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6TuesdayApril232013EducationistheKeytounlockingyourpotentialCongratulationstoalloftheAuroraCollegeGraduatesVisitourwebsitewww.nwal.caTel867872-2216Fax867872-2214ForCharterReservationsCalltoll-free1-877-872-2216emailchartersnwal.caTheSouthSlaveDivisionalEducationCouncilwouldliketocongratulateAuroraCollegegraduatesontheirachievement.Thisprovessomethingwehavealwaysknownaboutyou.YoureprettysmartCongratulationsThebachaGradsSouthSlaveDivisionalEducationCouncilVisittheSSDECatwww.ssdec.nt.caKatlodeechedreamsofFirstNationsbroadbandnetworkFirstNationhopestolinkupreservetoberopticlineinAlbertaIndustryTelecommunicationsByMEAGANWOHLBERGTheKatlodeecheFirstNa-tionKFNofHayRiverislookingbeyondthebound-ariesofitsreservewiththedreamofestablishinganet-workofFirstNations-ownedtelecommunicationsinfra-structureintheNWT.TheFirstNationwhiches-tablisheditsownlocalberopticnetworkonthereservein2011iscurrentlyincon-versationwithAlbertasAxiaSuperNetaboutlinkingthereservetoexistinginfrastruc-tureinHighLevel.WhileAxiawouldbuildthelineuptotheborderKFNwouldpaytheestimated3milliontoconnectthatbertothereservethussecur-inggreaterbandwidthforthecommunityandanyoneelsewhowantstoleasetheinfrastructureorbuildtheirowntojoinup.KFNshopeisthatthenewlinkwillnotonlycreatemoreeconomicopportunitiesforthebandandregionbutpotentiallylinkwithnearbycommunitiesprovidingamodelforotherFirstNa-tionswantingtoestablishandowntheirinfrastructureratherthanbedependentonthesoletelecommunicationsbackboneintheNorthownedbyNorthwestel.AlotofFirstNationcom-munitiestalkaboutself-gov-ernmentyethowcanyoubeself-governedwhenyoudonthavetheinfrastructuretoputservicesonWerealwaysdependentonutilitiesthattheFirstNationcommuni-tiesdontownsowewantedtoowntheutilityoutrightLyleFabianinformationandcommunicationstechnologyICTmanagerforKFNtoldTheJournal.KFNrstbeganlookingintobertechnologyin2008inordertoaddressthehighcostsandtechnologicalis-sueswithphoneandinternetexperiencedonthereserve.Withatwo-year215000grantfromtheCanadianNorthernEconomicDevelop-mentAgencyCanNorthecommunitywasabletotrainvelocalbandmemberstobuilda1-kmberopticlineconnectingallKFNadmin-istrationbuildingsincludingtheschoolandeldersfacility.Theinfrastructurenotonlysignicantlyboostedthespeedandreliabilityoflocaltele-communicationsbutsavedtheFirstNationmoney.VideoconferencingcapabilitiesalonehavesavedKFNthou-sandsofdollarsintravelandaccommodationcosts.Atthehighestyearwewerespendingcloseto140000justontravelFabiansaid.Whenwestartedimplementingvideocon-ferencingforthersttimein15yearswewereunder40000intraveland18000inaccommodations.NowFabiansaidKFNwantstofinishwhatitstarted.TheyhavegonebacktoCanNorwiththeresultsoftheiron-reservepilotprojectwithanewproposaltocon-necttooutsideinfrastructureaskingthatCanNorpay80percentofthecostofthelinemeetingupwithAxiasopen-accessnetworkinAlberta.ThebenetFabiansaidwillnotonlybefortheFirstNationbutanybodyelsewhowantstoliveordobusinessintheNorthfromresidentstocellphoneandinternetserviceprovidersbycreat-ingcompetitionthroughre-dundancywhichcouldbringdownthecostofservicescurrentlyprovidedbyonecompanywithastrongholdontheterritory.Theexistingcopperin-frastructureisoldexpensivetooperateandverylimitedFabiansaid.WhenyouputinfrastructureinthehandsofAboriginalgroupsandtheybuildtheutilitythemselvesits100percentownedthecommunitycanleasethein-frastructureatafractionofthecostofthelocalincum-bentandlowerthecostsforcompaniestocomein.PlushesaidwhenFirstNa-tionsareinchargetheycanprovidelocalswithtrainingandjobsbuildingandmain-tainingthenetworkandthewholecommunitycanbenetfrombetterhealthandsocialserviceseducationandpo-tentialbusinesspartnerships.FabiansaidthislocalizednetworkmodelcouldbeapplicabletoFirstNationsacrosstheterritoryandhehopesothercommunitiesfol-lowKFNsleadtobuildandowntheirowninfrastructure.Weretryingtoshowwecancookiecutthesamepro-cesswevedoneonthereservewithothercommunitiesandputownershipinthehandsofFirstNationsgovern-mentshesaid.HereintheNWTwereallwaitingforonecompanytobethesolu-tionforeverything.Ifcom-munitiestakeinfrastructureintotheirownhandstheyrebenetting.Andwhobettertobenetthanthecommuni-tiesandthepeoplePhotocourtesyofKatlodeecheFirstNationKatlodeecheFirstNationmembersLoranPotrasHarleyTambourandHenryTambourdigatrenchfortheirlocalberopticlineontheHayRiverreserve.